Driving the Nuuanu Pali
by Book 'em Again
Summary: It was just a silly old superstition, right?


Danny Williams stepped quickly to the side to avoid a bunch of kids dressed as pirates running down the sidewalk. Even though years of being a cop had given him good instincts for spotting trouble, there was just something about Halloween that stretched those instincts to the limit; especially since he couldn't help but try to discern what costumed persons might be looking for mischief instead of candy.

And while he no longer had to concern himself with teenaged pranks and the majority of the usual Halloween mischief – that was HPD's headache, thank goodness – the holiday still caused added complications for his regular duties. Normally, it wouldn't have taken more than an hour or two to track down and ask a few questions of a Honolulu cab driver who had driven a suspect the same day that a murder was committed. But that was before they realized that he was off duty and had gone to Kailua for a party.

Danny had grabbed his friend and colleague, Kono Kalakaua, and the two of them had spent half a day tracking down this single but important witness. Thankfully, his information was useful, so the day hadn't been a total loss.

Turning the corner, he spotted his friend leaning against the side of his car. "Got 'em," he announced as he held up a paper bag to the hungry Hawaiian. Kono wasted no time in digging through the bag and unwrapping a delicious looking hot dog. Danny smiled at his friend's enthusiasm. Though to be fair, they had worked straight through lunch without a break. "Aren't you going to wait until we get back to the office?"

"Why?" Kono asked between mouthfuls. "You're driving."

Danny conceded the point and opened the driver's door. The sooner he got back to Honolulu, the sooner he could eat. However, once Kono swallowed the last of his first dog, he said seriously, "Might as well eat, bruddah. I heard on da radio dat there's a bad wreck on da Pali. A bunch of pumpkins fell out of a truck and when an old lady swerved to avoid dem..."

"Where's the wreck?"

"About a mile north of da Nuuanu Reservoir."

Danny groaned. They needed to get back to Honolulu. Steve would want to hear their report. Plus, he had made plans to attend a party tonight. "We'll take the Nuuanu Pali back."

Kono held out an unwrapped dog. "All the more reason to eat fast. Don't want ta anger Pele."

Danny inwardly sighed; while he respected his friend's belief in the old gods, there was no way he was letting a silly old superstition cause them more delays. "I'll eat when we get back."

Kono's eyes widened but he got in the car and quickly went to work on his second hot dog. "Just don't blame me when da car stops working."

"It's only a hot dog; I doubt Pele would even recognize it as pork."

That seemed to mollify his friend.

Thankfully, traffic wasn't too backed up when they got on the Pali Highway. It was heavy but it was still moving, and when he got off at the Nuuanu Pali exit, a steady flow of cars joined them. Beside him, Kono began to murmur softly under his breath. It sounded like a prayer.

The Nuuanu Pali wound its way through the beautiful Hawaiian jungle, easing Danny's spirits a little. It was a shame that the convenience of the modern highway meant that he rarely took the back roads anymore. How could such a pretty drive be the source of so many superstitions and other haunted tales?

As if to answer his question, the engine began to sputter and make weird noises. Concerned, he pulled off to the side of the road and turned off the engine. Then when he tried to restart the car, it wouldn't start. Danny didn't dare look at his friend. "Don't say a word."

Kono just couldn't help it. "I was going…"

"Don't."

Aware that he was in a foul mood, Danny forced himself to take a couple of deep breathes to clear his head; he needed to think rationally. There had to be a reasonable explanation for the car to suddenly stop working.

After propping open the hood, Danny spotted what he thought might be the problem and went to work. However, the silence between the two detectives was quickly becoming awkward. So in an attempt to try to mend things while he worked, he said, "I don't understand why Pele's fight with Kama…" He paused as he struggled to remember the rest of demigod's name.

"Kamapua'a"

"With Kamapua'a means no one is allowed drive with pork in their car on the Nuuanu Pali."

"Kamapua'a is half pig, half man so carrying pork is like taking Kamapua'a over da mountian ta Pele. So Pele stops da car ta stop Kamapua'a from crossing over."

Kono sounded sincere in his beliefs, and Danny couldn't deny that it was freaky that the car had suddenly stopped. He hated to admit it, but there was just something about Halloween that was making him consider the possibility that the supernatural might just be real after all.

But that didn't mean he was just going to let Kono throw away his lunch.

A low growl from the jungle on Danny's right caused the detective to jump back in fear. As a large white dog walked out of the jungle, his hand moved to his service weapon. He didn't want to shoot but he would if he had to.

"Hey!"

Danny turned and saw Kono shouting and waving his arms to draw the dog's attention away from him. Then Danny could only watch in horror as his friend threw first one and than a second hot dog right to the animal. The dog wasted no time in grabbing his treat and disappearing back into the jungle.

Once Danny could breathe again, he said, "Alright, I'll admit it. I'm spooked."

Kono smiled gently. "No reason ta be spooked. Pele sent da dog ta get da pork. We can go home now."

Danny didn't know whether it was removing the pork or his work on the engine that had caused the car to start up again. But as they drove back to Honolulu, he did know one thing was certain: Kono was never going to let him live this day down.

PAU


End file.
